Keyed zither.



H. A. BALLARD.

KEYED ZITHER. APPLICATION FILED- FEB. 24. I917- RENEWED 3.25.1919.

Patented Apr. 8, 1919.

I 3 SHEETSSHEET I.

Q INu EN H. A. BALLARD.

KEYED ZITHERL APPLICATION FILED FEB.24. 1917. RENEWED FEB. 25. 1919.

7 1,299,654. Patented Apr. 8,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 'H. A. BALLARD.

KEYED ZITHER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 24. 1917- RENEWED FEB. 25,1919.

1 ,299,654;. Patented Apr. 8, 1919.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BARBIE A. BALLABD, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE PHONOHABP COMPANY, OF EAST BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

KEYED ZITHER.

Patented Apr. 8, 1919.

Application filed February 24, 1917, Serial No. 150,687. Renewed February 25, 1919. Serial No. 279,176.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ITARRIE A. BALLARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements" in Keyed Zithers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to keyed zithers or like musical instruments in which the strings are caused to vibrate by a series of hammers arranged in operative relation thereto. The action and the support therefor constitute an attachment which may be employed with a zither of any desired size or shape, and, in the form shown, it may be utilized for playing an accompaniment on the chord strings, as well as playing a melody on the melody strings so-called.

On the accompanying drawings,-

Figure 1 represents in plan view a zither equipped with one embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 represents a longitudinal section through the attachment showing the keys and hammers in their normal positions.

Fig. 3 represents a like section showing one of the keys depressed and its associated hammer in several positions.

Figs. 4 and 5 represent respectively sections on the lines 4-4 and 5-5, Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 represents a slightly different embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 7 shows a hammer having a stiff shank for the head.

The instrument may be of the usual type consisting of a body or sound box having the bottom 10, the parallel apertured sounding board 11, and the side and end walls, of which the front end wall is indicated at 12. Preferably the instrument is provided, in addition to the melody strings 13, with groups of chord strings 14, 15. The melody strings may be arranged in either a diatonic or a chromatic scale as desired, though the simple form of instrument is strung to furnish approximately the diatonic scale of two octaves of the keys of C and F major. Each roup of chord strings may comprise a fun amental bass string 14, and three or more strings 15 to produce a triad in harmony therewith, and the chords may include the tonic, the domlnant, the subdominant and a minor, if desired.

The attachment comprises a frame which may be attached or secured to the front end of the body of the instrument, and on which are respectively pivoted a plurality of hammers and their associated keys. The frame may with convenience consist of the two end blocks or supports 16, 16, secured in lace by screws 17 on the sounding board.

he screws preferably pass through the sounding board into the side walls (not shown) of the body. The supports project forwardly beyond the front end of the instrument, and have secured thereto by screws 23 a plate 18 with inturned flanged end and side marginal portions 19, 20 to cover the pins 21 to which strings are hitched. The upper side marginal flange 22 of the plate is bent downwardly to rest in slots formed in the projecting ends of the end blocks 16. The plate 18 may be formed of thin sheet metal if desired.

Each hammer, in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, consists of a stiff member 24 and a spring 25 having on its free end a head 26. The stiff members are mounted on a pivot, which may take the form of a cylindrical bar 27 arranged above and transversely of the strings and having its ends passed through apertures in the end blocks 16. Each stiff member 24 has a longitudinal open recess or groove 28 in its under side of adequate width to receive the fiat leaf spring 25. The spring is held frictionally in place by a cross pin 29 near the rear end of the member 24. The front end 30 of-the stiff member 24 is beveled, as best shown in Fig. 3, for a purpose to be described, and the said member is apertured between its said ends to receive the pivot 27. Associated with each hammer there is a key 31, which is fulcrumed on a pivot 32, the latter taking the form of a cylindrical bar having its ends mounted in the end blocks 16. Each key is pivoted at a point between its ends, and its rear end which is slightly beveled as at 33 lies under the front beveled end of the associated stifi member 24, and terminates at a point just below the pivot 27. The key has an inclined aperture 34 extending through it from face to face, and located in the middle portion, so that a portion of the pivot is exposed, as shown in Fig. 2. The front end of the hammer spring 25 is inserted into the stiff member 24 past the pivot 27 (between the said pivot and the top wall ofthe groove 28) and is then bent and passed into the aperture 34 and under the pivot 32. The ressure of the spring between the pivot 2 and the cross pin '29 is upward, and normally holds the inclined or beveled end face of the member 24 upon the flat top face of the key 31, the points of contact thereon being both in front and in rear of the pivot 32. The yielding pressure of the front end of the member 24 upon its associated key 31 holds the key in the position shown in Fig. 2, i. c. with its front end raised and its rear end somewhat above the strings. On depressing the front end of the key, its rear end is raised, and the hammer is tilted about the pivot 27 until the beveled end face 33 rests flatly against the under face of the member 24. This has the effect of swinging the head of the hammer down sharply into contact with the string or strings therebeneath. If the key remains depressed, the hammer head will vibrate rapidly against the strings to produce a succession of notes. hen the parts are in this position, the stiff member may be tilted still further about its pivot, as indicated by dotted lines, although the key itself is held against further depression. The downward movement of the hammer flexes the spring to a greater extent, 50 that, on releasing the key, the pressure of the spring immediately returns the parts to their normal positions. The spring therefore performs three functions; it supports and yieldingly actuates the hammer head, it holds the stifi member 24 normally in an inclined inactive position, and it holds the key in an inactive position, and automatically returns all of said parts to said positions after they have been moved respectively to their active positions. Instead of employing a single spring to perform these functions, it could be replaced by two springs, one, 35, secured to the end of the member 24 to carry the hammer head, and the other, 36, to perform the function of the remaining portion of the spring 25, as in Fig. 6. Or, if desired, the head could be carried by a stiif extension 37 of the member 24, as in Fig. 7, in Which case the spring 38 would be limited to performing the function of yieldingly connecting the key and hammer as in the case of spring 36 just described. In the latter case, the head 26 is of sufficient weight so that, on depressing the key, the stiff member is carried by its momentum beyond the first dotted line position to the second dotted line position, in consequence of which the head strikes but one blow on the strings.

One or the other of the two contacting elements, 2'. e. the key or the member 31, is faced with a layer of felt to make the action noiseless. As shown at 39, however, it is located onthe rear end of the key, and it is apertured to receive the front end portion of the spring.

I have stated that the chord strings are arranged 1n groups, each group comprislng 'a fundamental bass string 14, and several other strings 15 in'harmony therewith. I arrange the keys and hammers 30 that there is one key and hammer for each bass'string 14 and one key and hammer to strike the remaining strings of the group. The two keys for each group are indicated respectively at a Z) in Fig. 1. The keys for the melody strings are indicated at c. The keys therefore extend across the entire front end of the instrument. I have found it to be of decided advantage to employ two keys for each group ofv chord strings, as it is possible to secure results which cannot be obtained where a single hammer is employed for the entire group. The hammer heads for the chord strings are preferably formed of felt-shod wood, or of compacted felt, and the heads for the melody strings are preferably formed of wood or of metal.

I employ, if desired, a cover for the hammers. As shown, it consists of a thin sheet metal plate 40, with'its side margins turned down and formed with downwardly projecting ears 41 through which the pivot bar 27 passes. Nuts 42 on the threaded ends of said bar clamp the ears friction-tight against the end blocks, so as to hold the cover plate at an angle to the'strings, high enough above the hammer heads to prevent the latter from impinging thereon. The front marginal. portion has a rearwardly bent. flange 43, forming a recess or groove between it and the front of the plate to-receive the lower end of the music chart (not shown) supported by said plate. In case it should prove necessary, for the purpose of supporting the pivots at points between the end blocks, I may use one or more thin metal supports 44 having a base-flange 45, the upright portion being located between two adjacent keys and their respective hammers.

I have used the words front and rear in a relative sense and not as implying liini tations.

Having thus explained the nature of my said invention and described a way of mak ing and using the same, although without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, what I claim is:

1. The combination with a Zither, of a hammer arranged longitudinally of and above one of the strings, a pivot therefor, a key having its rear end projecting under and engaging the front end of the hammer and constituting a stop to limit the move ment of the hammer away from the string, and a pivot therefor located under the front end of the hammer, the depression of the front end of the key effecting the depression of the hammer.

2. The combination with a zither, of a hammer arranged longitudinally of and above one of the strings and comprising a stiff member pivoted between its ends, a key operatively associated therewith and pivoted between its ends, and having its rear end projecting under the front end of said member, stationary pivots for said key and memher, one of said pivots being over the rear end of the key and the other being under the front end of said member, and yielding means for holding the said member and said key normally in inactive positions, the rear end of the key constituting a stop by which the movement of said member to inactive position is limited.

3. The combination with a stringed musical instrument, of a hammer arranged longitudinally of the strings and comprising a member pivoted between its ends and carrying a headed spring member at its rear end, and a key pivoted between its ends and operatively projecting under the front end of said first-mentioned member, whereby when the front end of said key is depressed the headed end of the hammer is depressed to impinge upon the associated string or strings, the rear end of said key limiting the movement of the front end of the stifi member and the pivot for the key being under the front end of said member.

4. The combination with a stringed musical instrument, of a key pivoted between its ends and having its front end adapted to be operated by a player, a hammer member also pivoted between its ends and having its front end overlying and resting upon the rear end of said key, parallel pivots for said key and said member, and a spring engaging the front pivot and said member for holding said key and said member in inactive position.

5. The combination with a zither, of an attachment therefor comprising a support, two parallel pivots supported thereon and arranged above the strings transversely thereof, with one of said pivots in front of the other, a plurality of keys fulcrumed between their ends on the front pivot, a plurality of hammers fulcrumed on the rear pivot and having their front ends normally resting on the respective keys and projecting forwardly beyond the front pivot, and resilient means for holding said hammers and said keys in said described relation, whereby when the front end of one of the keys is de-,,

pressed the associated hammer is swung about its pivot into engagement with a string or strings.

6. The combination with a zither, of an attachment therefor comprising a support, two parallel pivots supported thereon and arranged above the strings transversely Copies of this patent may be thereof, with one of said pivots in front of the other, a plurality of keys fulcrumed between their ends on the front pivot, a plurality of hammers fulcrumed on the rear pivot and having their front ends resting on the respective keys and projecting forwardly beyond the front pivot, and springs attached to the hammers and passing over the rear pivot and under the front pivot for holding said keys and hammers in inactive positions.

7. The combination with a zither, of an attachment therefor comprising a support, two parallel pivots supported thereon and arranged above the strings transversely thereof, with one of said pivots in front of the other, a plurality of keys fulcrumed between their ends on the front pivot, a plurality of stiff hammer members fulcrumed on the rear pivot and having their front ends resting upon the respective keys at points in front and in rear of said front pivot, a headed spring connected to each stiff member and having its front end engaged with the front pivot to hold the head thereof remote from the associated string or strings.

8. The combination with a zither, of two parallel pivots arranged transversely of the strings thereof with one of said pivots in front of the other, a key pivoted between its ends on the front pivot and its rear end beveled and extending to a point below the rear pivot, a hammer pivoted between its ends on the rear pivot and having its front end beveled, and normally resting upon the said key at points in front and in rear of said front pivot member, whereby when the front end of the key is depressed its rear end swings the hammer about the rear pivot until the beveled portion of the key bears against the under face of said hammer, and yielding means for returning the key and hammer to the first-mentioned position.

9. The combination with a zither, of two parallel pivots arranged transversely of the strings thereof with one of said pivots in front of the other, a key pivoted between its ends on the front pivot and its rear end beveled and extending to a point below the rear pivot, and a hammer comprising a stiff member pivoted between its ends on the rear pivot and having its front end beveled and normally resting upon the key at points in front and in rear of said front pivot and a spring having a head on its free rear end and having its front portion passing over the rear pivot and under the front pivot, said key having an aperture for the passage of the spring therethrough.

In testimonywhereof I have affixed my signature.

HARRIE A. BALLARD.

obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 01 Patents,

Washington, D. C." 

